Members of the public are invited to Criccieth RNLI lifeboat station on Thursday (1 April) to cheer on a group of ladies, who have been shrinking their waistlines to throw RNLI volunteers a lifeline.
On Thursday, eight members of the Porthmadog Weight Watchers branch, will be stepping on to the scales to reveal the total amount of weight they have lost since beginning the challenge in January. They will also announce the amount of money raised for Criccieth RNLI and hand over a cheque to the volunteer crew.
The group embarked on the slimathon to mark the RNLI’s annual fundraising day – SOS Day, which fell on 29 January 2010. They set themselves just two months to lose as much weight as possible and received a tremendous amount of support from their Weight Watchers leader.
On Thursday, (1 April), spectators are invited to join the ladies in celebrating their success. The Criccieth RNLI lifeboat will also be launching on a training exercise at 5.30pm, and children are welcome to join in the fun and find out more about the work of the RNLI charity.
Carol Emery and Suzanne Millard, who are both active members of the Criccieth and Porthmadog RNLI ladies guild, came up with the idea of slimming to raise vital funds for the RNLI charity. They were already members of the Weight Watchers group, so decided to rally the troops and encourage fellow slimmers to seek sponsorship for their efforts.
Carol’s husband Gordon is a volunteer helmsman of Criccieth RNLI lifeboat and 22-year-old son Tom is also on the crew.
She says:
‘So many people flock to the coast during the summer and never know when they may need the services of RNLI volunteers, who are on call 24/7. Supporting the RNLI is crucial and the response we’ve had to our challenge has been fantastic, we can’t wait to see how much has actually been raised.’
Suzanne, an active RNLI fundraiser since moving to the area 10 years ago has worked in the Criccieth RNLI shop for the past four years. She says:
‘We are really looking forward to Thursday night and are urging people to come along at 5.30pm for 6pm, share our success and see how much money we have raised for the RNLI charity. There will be plenty of goodies on offer for the children and an opportunity to see the RNLI lifeboat launching, which is always exciting.’
